Computer Stuff..........

archangel

archangel

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Name
Mike
Edit My Images
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Right Guys and Girls.

This is a tall order but can someone please help me do the following:

Build a website: that is to say which programs should i use for a beginner.
Build a blog: that is how the hell do you do it?
Social network: whats the crack with that: twitter,facebook or bebo which one?



all help appreciated as usual:)
 
Have you got webspace to use (or are you planning on getting some)?

If so the selfhosted version of Wordpress is what you need for points 1 and 2. Pages are your webpage and the posts bit is the blog.

FWIW Frontpage isn't the best, you can tell pages made in Frontpage from a mile off. There are also options like Clickpic and Photoshelter if you want a ready made website that is hosted for you, if you are going down that route, wordpress.com or blogspot would be the best bet for the blog.

Social networking is good, but if you are involved in it, but it you are looking at it purely to promote your business I don't think it will work, you need to get the interest/presence too by using it.
 
No idea about blogs or social networking im afraid but I can provide information on building a website.

Really depends on how much experience you have got with website design

Can you code in HTML?
Do you know CSS?

If you dont know either of these then you will need to use some sort of WYSIWYG (What you see if what you get) editor such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver (preferable if you have it)

Whether you code it yourself using something like notepad or use an editor such as frontpage, there are a few things to take into account, especially if you want decent search rankings and a professional look

1. NEVER use tables to layout the pages. Tables are designed for tabular data and should not be used for anything else.
2. Try and keep your page valid according to a HTML validator
3. Use heading tags (H1, H2, H3 etc) for page or section heading as these will help with search rankings.
4. Please Please Please do not use flash for a professional website
5. Test your website in different browsers (including IE6 as a lot of companies still use it) during development otherwise you may have a nasty shock when it doesnt line up properly
6. Finally, make sure everything lines up correctly, links work as there meant too and the website is easy to read.
 
wordpress really is the way to go, pick a company who will allow you to automatically install on your hosting
 
As it is for business. My honest advice is to get a pro in. The time you will take to set up a website from scratch, never having done it before will be ages.

Also, and no offence meant here, the chances are it will not look professional, it will look like what it is, you trying to put a site together with limited knowledge of website design. A website is the first way clients will usually interact with your business, so a good website is worth its weight in gold.

Blog on the other hand, you can set up a blog quite easily, and use that to showcase your work etc. whilst you get a site made up.

Social networking, key ones seem to be Facebook and Twitter. Only advice, if you create one, update it regularly. No point in a client looking at your twitter and seeing the last update was 6 months ago, same with Facebook. Keep it updated. The social media stuff is a nice way for a potential client to see the person behind the lens, and does have its uses in business.

I know others will disagree with me saying let someone else do it, but it is the only way you will get it right first time. Remember you only have one good chance to make a first impression, as soon as you go live the world has access to look at you, and you want to look your best.

It is a bit like letting a web designer take photos for a client, he will never be able to do it as well as a photographer, that is why he is a web designer.
 
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